Breakups, birth and other
by slickchick84
Summary: Break-ups, birth and other not-so-normal disasters. Sam get's an unexpected visit, a big damn shock and then...a hormonal roomate! Brooke/Sam pairing eventually.
1. Chapter 1

**Right, I sooo know I shouldn't be starting another story, but...I want too damnit! I also know this isn't such an active fandom on this site anymore, but I couldn't care less. If four of you read this then that's fine by me. These days I seem to be all about the unpopular, or in this case out dated, pairings anyway.**

**I don't own the characters or the show.**

Break-ups, birth and other not-so-natural disasters.

Chapter 1- Old friend comes a knockin' and sanity goes a walkin'.

"He left me."

It was a quarter past ten on a Thursday night and Sam had, as sad as it sounded, been very much asleep up until a minute earlier when someone had started banging on her door. She had stumbled out of bed, her big toe rather painfully meeting her side table and haphazardly thrown on what she thought was her robe. Turned out it was just the button up shirt she'd worn earlier that day on the plane.

So there stood Sam, half asleep and wearing nothing but a tank top, panties and a wrinkled shirt and on the other side of her door stood a red eyed and sniffling Brooke McQueen. Sam was slightly at a loss for words in that moment.

"Huh?"

It was perhaps not the most elegant of statements, but Sam had been on a plane or three for the better part of two days and before that had little to no sleep while covering the spurt of surprise bombings in Turkey. She'd been in the country purely by chance, having taken a vacation for the first time in two years, and had already toured both Italy and Spain before her fateful three day trip into the country waylaid whatever other plans she had for her vacation.

So really, she thought she could be forgiven for her less than eloquent response.

"He left me, Sammy! Said we'd grown apart and that he didn't see a future for us anymore. Said we'd be better off cutting our losses now and concentrating on being good friends again. Can you believe that?!"

A foot was stomped to accentuate how very pissed off Brooke was, but Sam was too stuck on the part where Brooke was actually at her door to notice. Brooke who lived thousands of miles across the country in a rather nice townhouse in Seattle, which she shared with Harrison. Well, by the sound of it at least, used to share with Harrison.

"Uhm, okay. I...you...how'd you get here?"

Sam cursed herself silently as she fumbled over her words, but she was still trying to play catch up with the reality of the last week in her life and now she was faced with an irate, emotional Brooke. Who shouldn't by all accounts be on her doorstep in L.A.

"I flew, Sam. How the hell else would I get here?"

Sam wanted to point out that there was this wonderful invention called the automobile that could easily have brought her from point A to point B, but with time came wisdom and she'd learned after years of having Brooke in her life to finally just bite her tongue on occasion (sometimes quite literally). Sarcasm had long since not been either of their default settings, but it still managed to rear it's ugly head occasionally if they weren't careful.

"Right, sorry. Come inside and we can talk about this..._after_ I've made us some coffee."

Oh there would be coffee, lots and lots of coffee and hopefully with all that caffeine would come some clarity for Sam, because right at that moment she needed it. She hadn't seen Brooke in a good seven months, not since Brooke and Harrison had flown into town to not just spend Christmas with them, but to announce their engagement.

Not to say that they didn't talk often, because they did basically everyday. Whether it was by email or on the phone or Brooke sending Sam a goofy picture of herself, they made sure to stay in touch on a daily basis. That's what best friends did after all.

It didn't matter that hearing Brooke's voice, or even seeing her cross eyed with her tongue poking out in a hastily taken picture was enough to make Sam ache in an all too familiar way every single time. After eight years of it, she'd kinda become accustomed to the feeling.

Which was really why she could be standing in her kitchen next to Brooke (who still looked radiant despite the runny nose and red eyes) and not be a quivering, crying and heartbroken mess on the floor.

"Do you have decaf?"

Brooke's voice and the foreign words it spoke, because to Sam the idea of coffee _without_ the caffeine was kinda outlandish and scary, shook Sam out of her thoughts.

"Uhm...what? Decaf, really? I don't think I've ever bought the stuff, but maybe Lily's left something like that behind. Just give me a minute."

Sam switched on the kettle and knelt in front of a cupboard, digging though her ex-housemate's old boxes of tofu and rusks and teas with funny names, until finally she found coffee of the decaffeinated variety. It looked a bit clumpy, seeing as it _had_ stood in that cupboard for a good two years since Lilly moved out, but Sam couldn't be bothered. It would have to do for tonight.

That and she finally realized that she was probably flashing Brooke her panties while her head was stuck that far into the cabinet. She grimaced when she whacked her head in her haste to straighten up and save whatever was left of her modesty.

Lately the universe seemed to have it in for her, first there were bombs, then crying Brooke and now head trauma. Sam wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve that kinda Karma.

When she finally turned back to Brooke she realized that her modesty was safe, because Brooke's gaze was morosely glued to the floor. Finally Sam's tired, battered mind cleared and she registered that yes, Brooke was really here and not just that, Brooke was hurting.

The ache in her heart doubled and she stepped up to the blond, her arms automatically going around the well shaped shoulders.

"What's that moron of a Harrison gone and done now?"

The words were muttered into the crown of Brooke's golden head, her friend's smooth cheek resting hotly against the skin of Sam's chest.

"He's broken my heart, Sammy, that's what he's done."

And then Brooke cried in earnest, sobs tearing from her chest painfully and Sam felt her own eyes sting in sympathy, her arms tightening its hold on the obviously broken woman. She didn't know what the hell was going on, hadn't picked up that anything was wrong despite their daily calls and now the reporter in her sprang to life. She wanted to know everything, her need to process and assimilate any and all information kicking in as it always did ever since she was a young girl.

Sam hated to be surprised, hated to be the last one to know what was going on and therefore be left vulnerable. That which you didn't know could easily hurt you, it was a motto Sam had lived by for a very long time now.

So with a firm hand she pushed Brooke away, keeping her at arms length with one hand as the other rather clumsily wiped the tears from Brooke's cheeks. She hated to see Brooke cry, had ever since the night of their Junior Prom when Nicole Julian, drunk off her ass and just a little on the crazy side, had attempted to plow her car into the blond.

She hadn't of course, the little sense Satan had had finally decided to kick in just as Brooke's survival instincts had. So Nicole swerved right and Brooke leaped left and all was well in the world. Except for the part where Brooke broke her ankle and sobbed her heart out on the pavement, because her _best_ friend had just tried to _kill_ her.

So Nicole had been carted away for drinking while under the influence and Brooke had spent half the night in hospital while Sam...well, Sam had gone home and cried like a baby in the shower. Once the crying had stopped she'd settled for cursing God or whatever other deity had decided to finally clue her in on the fact that she was hopelessly, desperately infatuated with Brooke.

Brooke, the bane of her existence, the one person in the whole wide world that she could never see eye to eye with or have very much of anything in common with. The girl she'd hated since she was ten years old, because Harrison had started making _googly_ eyes at Brooke and mooning over her when he was supposed to be concentrating on playing Power Rangers with her, Lily and Carmen.

So she'd sat there and felt sorry for herself, sat and tried to figure out when extreme hatred had evolved into love, but she'd been stumped. Maybe it had been gradual, or maybe it had always been love, just obscured by jealousy and prejudice, she hadn't been sure.

She still wasn't sure to this day, but she was long past the point where she cared about the why and the how. She just knew that she loved Brooke McQueen, had loved her for a very long time and would probably continue doing so until she died or the world stopped turning, whichever came first really.

The kettle boiling finally forced Sam to break her gaze away from Brooke's confused, hurt hazel eyes and she stepped forward quickly and pressed a kiss to the weary woman's forehead. She wished her kiss could rid Brooke of all that troubled her, but all it did was bring a small, lopsided smile to Brooke's mouth.

"Go get comfortable on the couch while I make the coffee and then we'll talk this thing through, okay?"

Sam watched as Brooke nodded, as her hand nervously crept up to slip a stray strand of blond hair back behind her ear and it was such a Brooke thing to do that Sam had to smile. Maybe she'd go to hell for thinking it, but she was happy to see Brooke despite the circumstances that brought her here.

It had been a _long_ seven months and she could see that the blond already looked so much different from the last time she saw her. Her hair was longer, her cheeks a little rounder and Sam would swear under oath that her breasts were a bit fuller.

Had Brooke had surgery?

The thought made her frown, made her tilt her head to the side and go though all the mental images she had stored of Brooke in her bikini, or in any state of undress really, for a point of reference as she kept a steady gaze on the breasts in question.

"Uhm...Sam, you okay there?"

Sam flushed and gave what could only be described as a squeaky cough in embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just, you know, jet lagged."

Brooke frowned but nodded her head, seemingly happy with the explanation for Sam's little ocular slip up. She left for the couch while Sam just shook her head and finished preparing the coffee. She was usually better at not ogling her stepsister, but it really had been a long time since she'd seen Brooke in the flesh. Her resolve was only _so_ strong...

By the time she sat herself down next to Brooke, steaming coffee cups settled on the low table in front of them, the blond was no longer crying or sniffling. She was just sitting there like a lost little puppy, her eyes somehow conveying to Sam that there was more troubling her than just the breakup with Harrison.

A niggle of fear ran down Sam's spine and she found herself sitting ramrod straight, tension suddenly making the muscles in her neck strain. Apprehension seeped into the air between them, Brooke swallowing convulsively as she once again blinked back tears and Sam suddenly chewing on her bottom lip. She knew Brooke and knew the look on her face meant nothing good.

"Spill it, Princess."

A slim, warm hand slipped into Sam's and there was a beat before Brooke spoke.

"I'm four months pregnant." There was another tense beat. "And you're kinda crushing my hand..."

- - -

**Would appreciate any and all reviews, or even just pointers on the characters reactions and so on, as I haven't actually watched the show in a good six years or so...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you very much to all of those that commented, I really didn't expect it! Hopefully you guys stick it out with me on this story (seeing as I probably ticked off the people that follow my Kymen story by updating this today in stead of that fic!)**

**Also Tweevil16. I've checked out that Yahoo group you pointed out. Haven't posted yet, but I'll probably get around to doing that this week. So thanks for the heads up!**

**As always I don't own Popular, so don't go and try to sue me. I'm broke, yo!**

Break-ups, birth and other not-so-natural disasters.

Chapter 2

"_I'm four months pregnant." There was another tense beat. "And you're kinda crushing my hand..."_

And with those few words, Brooke managed to rock Sam's world. Oh how Sam wished that it was in the more conventional sense, you know, the I-just-had-the-best-sex-of-my-life kinda way, but as was the theme in her life lately, it was quite the opposite.

It felt like she'd hit a brick wall at a hundred miles an hour. _Without_ a safety belt on.

"Hmmugh..."

That was it, Sam couldn't manage anything more sensible then that. For years she's always had this little fantasy where Brooke and Harrison didn't actually have sex. No, they simply held each other's hands and wrote each other bad poetry, or took walks on the beach and stared into each other's eyes. Not ever did she allow herself to acknowledge the fact that they probably had sex.

So much for living in denial now.

"Hey, you do not get to freak out about this! This is my freak out, you hear me?! I'm the one that's pregnant and dumped, not you, so stop with the vacant stare and convulsive swallowing. Just pull yourself together and say something comforting. Oh and for God's sake, let go of my hand, will you?"

Sam blinked away the images of Brooke and Harrison, naked and panting, sweat drenching their bodies as they..._writhed_ together. If she kept those kind of thoughts up, she'd hurl right on her living room floor. She also finally became aware of her grip on Brooke's hand, how her own fingers clung so tightly to Brooke's that she probably cut off their circulation. She let go then, flexing her fingers and grimacing in slight pain as blood and color rushed tinglingly back into the deprived digits.

"Sorry about that and about zoning out. You just really caught me unaware here, Brooke, I mean you're pregnant? You're pregnant and not with Harrison anymore and how the hell did all of this happen?!"

Sam's cool was slipping as anger set in. Besides being upset about everything that Brooke was telling her, she was also feeling suddenly hurt. Why had Brooke never told her anything was wrong to begin with? Did Brooke not trust her or did she not see Sam as her best friend anymore?

All of those options hurt the journalist immensely, because although she'd been hesitant when Brooke had made overtures towards friendship after the debacle that was their Junior Prom, she'd put her all into it when Brooke finally won her over.

She had known she'd never be able to have Brooke as a lover or partner, but she'd thought she'd always get to call her 'best friend'. Now the thought that she had lost that part of Brooke, that small part that she thought belonged solely to her, hurt more than anything.

If it was at all possible, Sam's heart broke a little more at the thought.

"I don't know how it happened, Sammy. I just know that it did and nothing I say or do can change it."

Brooke started crying again at this point and despite Sam's rising anger, she let her hand rest softly on Brooke's warm thigh.

"Why are you only telling me about all of this now?"

She was an asshole for making this about her, Sam knew that, but it didn't change how she felt. She needed to know where she stood with Brooke.

"Why? I don't know, Sammy, I just know that I didn't want you to know how utterly I messed things up. I didn't want you to look at me and see this huge failure. I couldn't stand the idea of you thinking that way about me."

Sam was a little dumbfounded by what Brooke said, not sure how all of this equated to Brooke being a failure. As far as Sam was concerned, Brooke was successful at anything she tried her hand at. The woman had a single minded determination that was admirable, except for the time in her life when said determination aided her in almost starving herself to death. In every other aspect it had served the blond well, be it in finally graduating at almost the top of her class in high school and university or in making Sam, sullen and angry Sam, finally agree to become friends with her.

At least Sam understood that it wasn't a case of Brooke not trusting her, but more Brooke being afraid that she'd somehow loose Sam too if she told her what was going on. It made Sam feel marginally better.

"How's this your fault, Brooke? Did you cheat on him? Treat him like crap? Artificially inseminated yourself? Really, explain it to me so I understand it, Princess."

In Sam's mind it was already all Harrison's fault, because who in their right mind would leave Brooke McQueen? The guy had to be crazy to give Brooke up willingly and if Sam was blatantly honest, which she generally was, it wasn't as if Harrison was much of a catch. Sure he was a nice enough guy, but he was still skinny as ever and not exactly in a high paying job.

A woman like Brooke McQueen could have who ever she wanted just by snapping her fingers, she was _that_ beautiful. So it was settled in her mind, Harrison was a moron.

"I kept pushing him, Sam. He said he wasn't ready for marriage yet and I pushed him into it, because I thought that it would somehow fix things between us. When that didn't and I got pregnant, I decided maybe if we have kids, it'll pull us together again. Thing is Sam, it didn't work. He was still so distant and..._sad_. He was just so sad all the time, like being with me was making him unbearably unhappy. Nothing I did seemed to fix it, Sam, nothing!"

At this point Brooke sniffed loudly, a faint blush creeping up her face as she looked down onto her lap.

"I mean it's a miracle I got pregnant to begin with, what with how little sex we've had in the last six months. And when we did have sex he made it feel like a chore. I just...am I really that undesirable? Am I that horrible that being with me left him _that_ cold?"

Sam swallowed hard, the mention of their sex life making her feel uncomfortable once again. She _really_ hated thinking of Brooke having sex with anyone. Well, anyone that wasn't her, because those kinda thoughts she'd always rather enjoyed...

For a second she let her mind wander, then she finally realized that sitting next to Brooke fantasizing about kissing every inch of her skin was not exactly the best thing in the world. Still, she was perversely happy to hear that their sex life had taken a vacation in the north pole.

"Brooke, you're beautiful and sexy and you know it, so don't even think that, okay? Did you ever think that it just wasn't meant to be? I mean you've been dating since high school, since you were both just kids really. A lot can change in almost nine years, Brooke, including feelings."

Sam was quiet, pondering her own words as she realized that despite eight, almost nine, years passing, she still felt very much the same about Brooke. She was a different person, had changed as much as she'd stayed the same, but her feelings for Brooke had been a constant.

She wondered if that was how Brooke felt about Harrison, or if it was just habit. Did Brooke really love the guy after all these years, or was she just loathe to admit that their relationship failed. She knew the blond well enough to know she still tried to be the perfect poster child for...well, for everything really.

Failure was a foreign concept to Brooke and that stood true in her personal life as well.

"That's really not what I came here to hear, Sam. This is the part where you tell me it's all going to be okay, that I'm not going to end up living with my parents, pregnant and single at twenty six. Can't you talk to Harrison for me? You've been friends forever and maybe...maybe he'll listen to you. I just need you to make this right for me, please Sammy?"

Sam bit her lip and pushed away any hint of selfish joy that Brooke's current predicament had brought her and became the best friend that Brooke so desperately needed. If Brooke wanted her to talk to Harrison, then by God she'd get on a plane first thing in the morning if that's what it took. Anything to take that sad look off Brooke's face, anything to make her smile again.

Yes, Sam McPherson really was _that_ whipped, but she'd made her peace with it years ago. If it made Brooke happy, there was very little Sam wouldn't do. Which would explain the plethora of pictures from their Senior Year with Sam wearing nothing but plaid skirts and pastel pink colored sweaters. Sam blamed her ill fated obedience of Brooke's fashion advice on the fact that she had still been in the early, passionate and rather _blind_, stages of love.

Lilly still snickered when she saw those old photos...

"I'll talk to him, Brooke, but I don't know how much of a difference it'll make. Harrison and I...we haven't really talked in years, not really, not like you and I talk. You're my best friend now, Brooke."

Brooke gave her a small smile and both quietly acknowledged the awkwardness that had become Sam and Harrison's relationship. Sam knew that both Brooke and Harrison had initially thought that Sam's behavior towards her onetime best friend had changed because she was in love with him and he'd chosen Brooke over her. In the end she'd preferred them thinking that then Brooke knowing the truth about her feelings.

"I guess you're right. It's just hard to imagine that it's over, that he really doesn't want me anymore. I mean I had everything planned out perfectly for our future. The wedding, the baby...and he just doesn't want that with me. He said...he said he couldn't raise a baby in a house without love in it." Sam felt her heart contract as Brooke just sat there, her face pale and her eyes dull. "That was all he could say to me when I told him I was pregnant..."

Brooke's quiet, painfully whispered words made the brunette flinch. Sam couldn't imagine what that must have felt like, could only guess at the utter devastation that Brooke must have felt at hearing Harrison say that to her.

"God Brooke, I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry that this happened to you."

Sam didn't know what else to say, didn't know how a few words could put back together Brooke's broken dreams. For all the her talent as a writer, as an artist with words, she knew when words were irrelevant, so she pulled Brooke into her arms and let her cry.

- - -

Two hours later Brooke was dry eyed, but no less heartbroken and Sam was falling asleep on her couch, despite the two cups of extra strong coffee she'd drank.

Brooke had told her in detail how things had started to go wrong in her relationship, how Harrison worked longer hours and became quiet, spending only the minimum of time with her. After she'd talked him into the engagement he'd made an effort, they'd gone to dinner once a week and he'd talked to her again, but it wasn't like before.

He was there for her, but the relationship was more friendly than anything else. The passion was gone, the need replaced with routine and habit. Getting pregnant had been an accident, but Brooke had thought that if anything could bring them closer a child would be it.

In the end that's what decided things for Harrison. He wouldn't marry Brooke, wouldn't raise a child with someone when he couldn't love that person fully. He had said that they both deserved the chance to find someone special, the person that was put on this earth just for them.

Sam couldn't help thinking that it would be easier for Harrison, what with him not being the _pregnant_ one and all. Still, Sam had seen what divorce could do to a child. Maybe it would be better this way, she wasn't sure, but she knew she wasn't about to share that thought with Brooke.

Sam was tired, not mentally incapacitated.

"So it's over. I stuck around for a month after all that, but it's just over and I'm pregnant, single, without a job and probably sleeping on my parent's couch, unless..."

Sam frowned, not sure where Brooke was going with this, but once again feeling that small niggle in the back of her mind telling her she's not going to like where this was going.

"Unless what?"

Then Brooke turned big, hazel eyes on her, her eyelids fluttering once, then twice as hope seemed to fill them.

"Unless you let me move in here with you. I mean you've still got Lilly's old room just standing there empty and I though, maybe we could be roomies. Just until I find my feet, or Harrison comes to his senses..."

A small sniffle accompanied the last words and for once Sam wasn't sure if it was real or for effect. Either way, it wouldn't let her budge on this one.

There was no way Sam would let Brooke move in. Not Brooke McQueen who thought it was perfectly fine to strut around wearing only her underwear in front of Sam, because they were friends and all. Sam remembered all too well her Senior Year and the times she actually had to sit on her hands to stop herself from just giving in and touching Brooke. Not to mention the time she'd accidentally walked in on Brooke naked and had only been stopped from falling onto her knees and declaring her undying love, because Lilly and Carmen stood right beside her.

Actually, that had turned out to be a pretty embarrassing encounter, what with Carmen's consequently nervous, apologetic babbling and Lilly not so covertly checking Brooke out. It had taken the mortified, yet completely turned on, Sam ages to get the dynamic duo out of Brooke's room.

All in all when she'd finally escaped to University, Sam had known it was for the best. Her raging libido and sometimes wavering sanity made living with Brooke almost impossible.

She didn't think that anything in the last eight or nine years would have changed that. Hell, she knew it didn't, because just sitting there and holding Brooke now managed to make want quiver low in her belly.

"I don't really know if that's the best idea. I mean I work long hours and you'll be all alone here, at least back at the palace Jane and Mac will be around. You shouldn't be alone in your condition anyway..."

Sam found herself looking down at Brooke's midsection, taking in the very slight rounding of her belly. She remembered then Jane's pregnancy, how she'd given birth with no one but Sam and Brooke to aid her. Suddenly fear gripped Sam, irrational as it was, that Brooke would somehow end up in a similar situation, except that maybe there wouldn't be anyone there to help her.

"Come on Sam, I'm not moving back in with the parents! God, let me have a little dignity left in this, please? I'm old enough to look after myself, I just need you to let me stay here for a little while until I find work and a place of my own, okay?"

Brooke sat huffing then, her mouth a set, straight line and her arms crossed over her chest. Which didn't help Sam's concentration much since all it did was accentuate the sudden fullness of Brooke's breasts.

Later Sam would blame her easy consent on this fact. Really, Brooke's breasts would be the end of her...

"Hmm...okay, sure, you can move in." Sam finally pried her eyes away from the lovely, plump breasts and frowned sternly. "Just until you get back on your feet though."

Brooke's grateful smile was beautiful and when she leaned over and hugged Sam, the brunette couldn't help thinking that it wouldn't be all that bad. She'd have her best friend around again and that was good, because Sam had missed Brooke terribly in the two years since the blond and Harrison had left for Seattle.

Brooke could be a pain in the ass, could irritate Sam like no one else on this green earth managed to do, but one smile from the blond could also make the worst day a little easier and no one could make Sam laugh quite like Brooke could.

Two days later when a U-haul full of Brooke's stuff came and Sam had to drag it all up to her apartment alone, she'd wonder why she thought living together would be a good idea again...

- - - - - - - -

**I really hope the few of you that read it, liked it. Any and all comments really are appreciated, so don't be shy ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just wanted to say thank you to all of those that read and reviewed! You all made my heart happy :) This chapter is a bit shorter than I would have liked, but it's mostly set up for the next chapter. **

Chapter 3:

She was snoring, not loudly or obnoxiously, just soft little snores as she lay sprawled on her back, her mouth half open and her eyes covered by a velvety black sleep mask. It wasn't the prettiest picture Brooke's ever painted, but Sam somehow still found herself thinking it was cute. It helped that her shirt ends had fallen open slightly and gave a view of her stomach, her skin still beautiful despite the fact that it was starting to visibly show a bit of baby bump.

It was that thought that brought Sam up short again. Baby bump. There was an actual _baby_ in there, inside of Brooke. A baby she had made with Harrison, though that thought was something Sam was willing to suppress for as long as possible, who was growing with each and every second as Sam herself stood there and watched Brooke sleep. She felt an overwhelming urge to run her fingertips over the exposed skin, to see if she could somehow _feel_ the baby inside, but thought better of it.

It was bad enough that she was playing the voyeur while Brooke slept, but feeling her up, however innocently it was intended, was a little creepy. Still the temptation was strong, so Sam found herself biting her bottom lip and holding in a pained sigh as she stepped forward, grabbed a small pillow off the bed and proceeded to lightly smack Brooke over the head with it.

"Come on, wake up! Today's a big day for you, Princess."

A groan was her answer, followed by Brooke curling into a little ball on her side, her back facing Sam.

"Ugh. Go away."

Sam rolled her eyes and dropped the pillow, her butt making the bed and Brooke, which was her intention, wobble as she sank down heavily onto it. Brooke groaned again, but Sam ignored her as she leaned over and tugged the sleeping mask up and off her face. Brooke squinted her eyes shut, the sunlight from the window she was facing hitting her unexpectedly in the face.

"Come on, Brooke. You've been in this bed for almost two days straight and you're starting to smell funky. Get up, take a shower and get dressed, you'll feel much better if you do. Besides, the parents are expecting me today and you're coming with." Sam's statement was met with silence and she fought the urge to roll her eyes again. "I'm _not_ letting you hide out in this room for the duration of your pregnancy, Brooke."

Brooke finally opened her eyes and rolled onto her back, giving Sam an offended look.

"I'm _not_ hiding, I'm simply recovering from traveling in my pregnant state. You really need to try and be more sensitive about things, Sammy, really! And I don't smell funky as you so eloquently stated, I got up and took a shower this morning while you were still dead to the world."

Sam shook her head, not falling for Brooke's bullshit excuse at all. Brooke _was _hiding, was trying her best to pretend there weren't issues to be dealt with and plans to be made. She'd yet to let the parents even know she was in town, much less that she was pregnant or about the break up with Harrison. So Sam got up and simply pulled the covers off of Brooke, side stepping the pillow that was thrown her way in retaliation.

"Get up, Brooke. We're having lunch at the parents and you're going to tell them what's happened. You're not suddenly helpless or incapacitated simply because you're pregnant, so don't think I'm going to treat you as if you were and let you just..._vegetate_ in this room." She was quiet, waiting until Brooke looked up and met her gaze. "They love you, Princess, they're on your side. This, the pregnancy and Harrison, it's not going to ever change that."

When Sam turned to walk away, hoping to leave Brooke with those superior pearls of wisdom, she flinched when her back muscles protested the movement. She groaned and paused, her body slumping somewhat.

"Besides, you owe it to me for lugging all your crap up two flights of stairs yesterday. Who knew make up and shoes could weigh so much?"

Another pillow came her way and this time it found it's target, hitting her squarely in the back of her head.

"Shut up and go make yourself useful by making me some tea."

Sam gave her a quiet look, taking in the dark circles under her eyes and the sadness that still hung about her.

"You'll be getting ready while I do that, right?"

A small nod was her answer, but Sam knew Brooke well enough to know that it would be at least an hour before she'd make her appearance, perfectly styled and dressed. So she left, ignoring the sight of Brooke leaning up and arching her back as she stretched, figuring it wasn't smart to get caught with drool dribbling down her chin. That might be a little difficult to explain after all.

- - - - - -

When Brooke did make her appearance, it was pretty much exactly as Sam had expected. She was dressed smartly, en expensive looking blouse over dark slacks with heels that made her tower over Sam. Her make up was done to perfection, her eyes highlighted by soft green and her mouth glinting a soft berry red.

"You do realize where just visiting with the parents and then having dinner, not...I don't know, having high tea with the Queen."

It was Brooke's turn to roll her eyes as she flicked her smooth hair back over her shoulder, light catching the gold and diamond of her earrings and making Sam blink. Sam finally understood that if anything the outfit was basically Brooke's version of armor. Some put on kevlar and protective head gear, Brooke simply put on her perfect make up and designer clothes to face what she assumed was danger ahead.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise to her really, because didn't she herself hide and protect herself behind words? She supposed Brooke would always have her image, her clothes and pretty trinkets to help protect her, just like she herself would always have her scalpel sharp tongue and wit.

"I know that, Sam, but it's not like I want to see them again after seven months looking like I ran out of clean laundry and then have to on top of that casually mention that I've not only lost my fiance, but I'm pregnant to boot."

Sam caught herself looking down and running a self conscious hand over her slightly rumpled button down shirt, tugging it down over her washed out jeans. She didn't exactly have time to do laundry yet, what with coming directly off a plane and then having Brooke, upset and crying, land on her doorstep. She would have done it the day before, but then she'd had to move all of Brooke's stuff into her apartment, spending the rest of the day on her couch with an ice pack on her aching shoulders.

"Okay, _fine_, so I didn't exactly dress up for dinner. I get it, I just don't think you have to make such a big deal out of all this, Brooke."

Sam was a little ticked off about the round about insult to her clothes, the stress of the last week or two in her life finally catching up with her and somewhat magnifying her general irritation with the world. So she turned in a huff, grabbing her messenger back and searching for her keys, purposefully ignoring the more important part of Brooke's statement.

It wasn't until she heard a slight sniffle and Brooke's soft voice that she turned back.

"It is a big deal, Sammy. It's my life falling apart, it's me _admitting_ that my life is falling apart to two of the people I most love and respect in this world."

Sam felt like an ass, knowing full well that she'd over reacted, being irritated and stressed and had fallen into the old habit of taking that out on Brooke. She wasn't a sixteen year old kid any more, she knew there were healthier ways of getting rid of irritation and frustration than picking a fight.

"I'm sorry, Brooke, I didn't mean it like that. I just..." Sam contemplated telling her that she wasn't sleeping all that well, images of the tourist cafe she had walked out of minutes before it exploded keeping her up, or making the little sleep she got troubled and restless. She decided against it, thinking that Brooke had enough to worry about as it is. "I'm just an insensitive asshole, that's all. Forgive me?"

She gave a lopsided smile, her head cocking to the side as she gave Brooke a look of regret. Sam would never know that she looked rather devastatingly cute, what with her ruffled clothes and tilted head, looking for all the word like a sheepish, chastised teenager. Brooke kinda wanted to hug her.

"You know, I don't get enough credit for putting up with you. I mean I'm obviously a good catch as a best friend. I'm glamorous and well dressed, an exceptional conversationalist and...well, I'm very pretty to look at. You? You're still stuck listening to grungy, indie rock and dress like you're colorblind, not to mention as moody as a menopausal woman. You can thank your lucky stars I love you for some reason."

Sam couldn't help smiling, because this sounded more like the girl, and then woman, that she's known the last few years. Brooke was smiling widely, arrogantly even, but it didn't phase Sam in the slightest, because she wasn't moping around or crying over Harrison. Sure it wouldn't last, you just don't get over something like the collapse of an nine year relationship that quickly, but it was nice to know that _her_ Brooke was still in there somewhere.

Plus it was pretty damn awesome to hear Brooke say she loves her. Except there was just one thing that she couldn't let slide...

"Arcade Fire is not grungy! Sure they're considered indie, but it just shows you how ignorant you are if you're adding grungy to that label. Next you're going to tell me that The Pussycat Dolls' lyrics are deep and moving, revolutionary even."

Brooke frowned, a blush slightly creeping up her cheeks as she seemed to bite her lip to keep from saying something and proving Sam right. When Sam made it half way to the door, having done a mental countdown all the way, she smiled when Brooke finally spoke up right on cue.

"Well, there was that one song..."

Sam burst out laughing, having expected nothing less but Brooke defending her beloved Pussycat Dolls. She couldn't help thinking that deep down, Brooke really thought that 'Don't cha' was written solely with her in mind.

"Brooke, 'Stick wit U' is not deep or moving and nowhere _near_ revolutionary, so just shut it and save whatever dignity you can salvage from this conversation." Sam made her way to the door then, giving Brooke a small smile to soften her previous words. "And I kinda love you too."

- - - -

**Hope you liked and as always I would appreciate some feedback ;) **


	4. Chapter 4

**So this took me forever to update and I'm sorry, but I've got a few other stories running as well and updating all of them regularly is a bit of an impossible mission at this point. **

**Just wanted to say thank you to those who read and reviewed the last chapter and I hope this doesn't disappoint!**

Break-ups, birth and other not so natural disasters.

Chapter 4: 

"You know, we could just get some take out and head back to the apartment. I mean it's not like missing lunch with the 'rents is the end of the world or anything."

Sam ignored the comment, just like she ignored the other four attempts Brooke had made at getting her to turn the car around and go back to her, well,_ their _apartment. Brooke sighed and started tapping her fingers against her thigh, her eyes resolutely trained on Sam's profile and the brunette felt herself starting to squirm under the close scrutiny.

"What? Do I have dried toothpaste on my cheek?"

For some reason that happened to her a lot , because she was a rather vigorous brusher and always in a rush. So her hand automatically came up to her face and started scrubbing at her cheek, until Brooke took hold of her wrist and pulled Sam's hand down, twining their fingers and resting them in her own lap.

Sam almost drove the car off the road. That was probably the closest she'd ever get to the finish line with Brooke. Her hand was actually resting near the holy grail, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the...

It was around there that Sam realized how pathetic and insensitive she was being. Horny, seventeen year old boy behavior did not look good on a twenty six year old woman. She really had to remember that.

"No toothpaste, you're good. You're actually...really good, pretty I mean. Have you done something new with your hair?"

Sam blushed and, as was her nature, tried to steer the conversation away from herself. Or more accurately, her appearance. Brooke had early on in their friendship, back in high school, tried to get her to pay more attention to how she looked with compliments and make up tips, but other than letting Brooke dress her, the attempts had failed. Brooke was the pretty one and she was the smart, driven one and that suited her fine. Except of course that Brooke was smart too, a fact that Sam had found rather unfair when they were teenagers.

Now it was just another thing she loved about the woman.

"Uhm, maybe, I don't think so. Anyway, do you know how you're going to tell them yet? I mean do you have a speech, 'cos I find it helps if you come prepared for these kind of things. You don't want to end up a bumbling mess, falling over yourself and then sobbing like a little girl..."

Brooke laughed then, the sound filling the car with her warmth and Sam found herself smiling too. It really was good to have Brooke back and to hear her laugh, even if Sam knew she just left herself wide open for...

"What, like your unsuccessful little 'I'm-dating-a-girl' speech back in college? Where you almost swallowed your tongue and turned into a blubbering, mute mess?"

...that.

Brooke went in for the kill, as Sam had known she would. It was actually Brooke that saved that whole conversation for Sam. They had both been home from college in their second year for Thanksgiving and Sam had come out, if you will, to the parents. She'd started haltingly, said all the wrong things and ended up red faced and crying, with Jane gaping at her and Mike blinking slowly and with much confusion.

When Brooke had burst out laughing it had broken the tension and when she'd gently questioned Sam, prodded and pressed in her own way for all the right answers, things had gone better.

Sam had ended up explaining that she'd met a nice girl at a coffee bar and a regular coffee date had simply turned into, well, a _date_ date. She had not mentioned that she knew she liked girls since high school, because that might have led to her blurting out that she was pretty much ardently in love with Brooke, but she had shared her confusion over liking a girl while she still felt pretty attracted to guys.

At that point Mike had excused himself, not because he didn't want to hear it, but because it was obvious that it was veering into girl talk between Brooke, Jane and Sam herself. So he'd left and Brooke had sat next to her, her hand firmly on top of Sam's own as Jane sat opposite them, asking all the things that a mother would in that situation.

"Yes, like that. I'm just imparting some valuable wisdom here, seeing as how I learned from experience and all. So are you feeling okay about this, Brooke? I mean if they could accept me for who I am, why wouldn't they accept your situation now? This isn't going to be so hard and I don't want you worrying over nothing. It's not good for my god child. I'm going be the godmother, right?"

Sam was getting more and more excited by the prospect of a baby. Yes, it was a baby that Brooke had gone and conceived with Harrison of all people, but it was going to be an important step in Brooke's life. It was going to help define the next eighteen years of the blonde's life and Sam intended to be a part of that if she could help it.

"You want to be the Godmother? I mean you weren't bad with Mac, but you've never come off as incredibly maternal to me before."

That stung for some reason. It brought all Sam's hackles to a rise and she frowned over at Brooke and pulled her hand free at the same time.

"I'm a woman, Brooke, of course I'm maternal. It's one of the most natural things in the world for me, I simply don't go throwing a ticker tape parade declaring that I want to have children one day. I mean depending on how things work out for me in the end, I may never have the opportunity to have kids."

It was true of course, if she settled down with a woman then having kids wasn't just a case of having sex at a certain time of the month. There were options, like adoption or in-vitro, but those weren't easy things to do. Having a child was something she wanted for her future, sure, but she always knew in the back of her mind it might not happen for her.

Brooke was silent again, a slight frown on her own face and Sam got the idea that her whole indignant speech had just gone mostly unheard.

"Hmm...not all woman have that natural mothering instinct, you know. Do you remember my real mother, Sam? Not exactly a prime example of the maternal woman, now is she?"

Sam felt a bit stupid for her outburst just then. She had mostly forgotten about Kelly, because the woman hadn't factored into Brooke's life for years now, so she was completely unimportant to Sam. Still, she should have remembered how hurt Brooke had been by her mother's actions, should never have forgotten how the woman had treated her best friend.

After all, it was clear that Brooke never forgot for a single moment.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a bit grouchy today. I didn't sleep well last night and I..."

Brooke cut her off with a casual wave of her hand.

"Don't apologize. It was dumb of me to just assume you didn't want or like kids. You'd actually make a pretty good mother, you know? You're smart and kind and loving, so any kid would be lucky to have you, really. I mean you might not want to hear this, but you remind me more and more of Jane each day."

And again Sam almost drove the car off the road.

She was turning into her mother? Her mother who could have an hour long debate with herself over which _fabric softener_ to use? The woman who cried after each episode of 'Touched by an Angel' back in the day?

Hell no, she was not turning into her mother, no matter how much she loved and respected the woman!

"I remind you of my mother? Are you freaking crazy?! The woman drives a minivan and secretly reads Harlequin romance novels for Christ's sake!"

Brooke cracked a smile again and snorted a bit, her eyebrows shooting upwards questioningly.

"She reads Harlequin?"

Sam gave a smile of her own and nodded before Brooke continued on.

"You're taking this the wrong way, Sam. I mean you're strong like her, you have her independence and pride, but it's not in that rebellious way from when we were kids anymore. You can say about Jane what you will, but she's a pretty great person and you know that. All I'm saying is that I'm seeing all her good qualities in you more and more these days. You're lucky really, I mean all I have to look forward to is turning into _my_ mother..."

Then it finally struck Sam why Brooke had gone quiet a little earlier, why the smile had faded so easily from her beautiful face.

"You're nothing like your mother, Brooke. There's not an iota of that woman in you and don't ever let me catch you thinking otherwise again! You're going to be a great mom, just like I'm going to be a great godmother, to this baby. I won't let you doubt that, okay?"

Sam got a watery smile for her trouble and blinked back her own tears a little. Brooke had baby hormones to blame for her emotional reaction, but Sam didn't have that luxury. So she sucked it up and pulled herself together, not wanting the whole episode to turn into an Oprah worthy moment.

"I think I remember why I put up with your crabby bullshit now, Sam. You're kinda great."

Sam laughed and shook her head, her heart once again beating rapidly as warmth rushed her chest, Brooke's words meaning more to her than the woman would probably ever know.

"Yeah yeah, I'm awesome and you're awesome, I got it. Now please stop swearing in front of the baby, he or she can hear your voice clearly in the fourth month, you know."

Brooke's eyes got comically big as her hand settled apologetically on her stomach and Sam laughed, long and hard and happily, at the woman she sometimes ached for. It wasn't just her body that Sam wanted either, it was just _her_. Everything about Brooke was special, her heart and her mind, it all touched Sam, all made her incapable of ever walking away from her.

Her heart was so tangled up in the woman, it scared her sometimes.

"I forgot baby can hear at this point!" Then she looked down at herself and squished up her face. It was scarily adorable. "I'm sorry, sweetie, please don't come out with a potty mouth, okay? From now on I'll stick to PG rated language only, promise!"

The sad thing was Brooke seemed completely serious in her apology. She was actually talking to her belly and for a second or two Sam wondered if she was losing it. Was insanity a natural side effect of pregnancy?!

Sam was pulled from her reverie by Brooke's voice and inquisitive eyes.

"How'd you know that, by the way?"

Sam shrugged and decided to go for casual, because Brooke didn't need to know that most of her sleepless night was spent on google, searching anything and everything she could about pregnancy. She might even have ended up ordering a couple of books, and fine, _one_ video, but that was her business, not Brook's.

"I read it somewhere once."

She also read that chances for miscarriage were much less after three months (the first thing she actually looked up), that baby had hair by now and if Brooke wanted to, she could probably find out the baby's sex. She had more pages bookmarked on the subject of the actual birth, but she was working her way up to that. She still needed to properly familiarize herself with months five to nine before tackling that.

Besides, she'd seen that part up close and personal before anyway, and it had been kind of gross. That was mostly because she had seen, you know, her mother's _vajayjay_. Only the fact that she got a cute baby sister out of that experience made it anywhere near okay in her book.

Then suddenly they were parked in front of the Palace and Brooke was obviously preparing herself for the inevitable. She was checking her make up in the mirror, was smoothing down her hair and pulling her shirt straight.

Sam made a halfhearted attempt to do the same with her worse for the wear clothes, but gave up quickly. Unless she magically pulled an iron out of her ass, there was no saving her outfit.

"Do I look okay, Sam?"

Sam looked, took in the face and clothes, and smiled honestly.

"You look beautiful, Brooke."

Then they got out of the car, Brooke walking ramrod straight and clinging rather firmly to Sam's own hand. Brooke had always been rather touchy-feely, but when she was stressed out she became a positive clinger.

Sam kinda liked that.

For the first time in years neither one of them just pushed open the door or used their own spare key, they just took a moment to smile encouragingly at each other again and then knocked timidly. Footsteps could be heard coming towards the door and seconds before it swung open, Brooke finally let go of Sam's hand.

When Jane let out a happy, surprised 'Oh' at the sight of Brooke, the blond smiled so wide Sam thought her face would just crack in half. Brooke was already acting the happy, perfect daughter, apparently unable to not try to keep up appearances for as long as possible.

"So I hope you don't mind, but I brought a friend along for lunch."

Sam smiled when her mother gave her a happy wink and dragged Brooke into a hug, her mother's face showing nothing but genuine joy at seeing Brooke with her. There was a time, long ago in high school, where the sight of her mother hugging Brooke McQueen would have made her spew lava and possibly stroke out, now it just made her smile even wider.

"Oh I'm sure we can squeeze her in somewhere, there's always a place for long lost daughters at my table. Come inside and say hello to Mike, he's going to be so happy to see you!"

Mac got to her first though, her slim little frame practically flying down the steps and pummeling straight into Brooke. There were squeals of joy and profuse hugging and kissing before Brooke was released and Sam herself was grabbed.

"Hey, Mac, you're looking...._short_, as usual."

The girl stuck out her tongue at Sam and when Jane gently flicked the back of her brunette head, smiled a happy, toothy apology at her.

"Ha! Give me a few years and I'll be as tall as Brooke, easy. Then we'll see whose making the short jokes."

Sam took a moment to just look at her and decided that yes, Mac would probably end up making the short jokes in a couple of years. For all that she had Sam's dark, wavy hair and eyes, everything else bore a strong resemblance to Brooke. Mac had her smile and her cheekbones, even her nervous habit of tucking her hair behind her ear, but most notably she had her easy nature when it came to all things social.

Mac was a cheer captain in the making, with a vibrant personality and her blond half sister's ability to be the center of attention without trying. As a plus she didn't seem to have any of the hangups that both Sam and Brooke had growing up.

The kid was basically going to conquer the world in Sam's opinion.

"Okay, I'll give you that, but I'll still be _smarter_ than either of you!"

That earned Sam a flick against the back of her head and a stern look from Jane.

"Mac, why don't you take Brooke here into the kitchen and surprise your dad? I want to have a quick word with Sam, okay?"

Sam raised an eyebrow and wondered if teasing her baby sister had just somehow ended her in warmer water than she'd expected. She always teased Mac, it was her job as an older sister, and it wasn't a new development between them.

Brooke's quick glance told her that she wasn't the only one surprised at Jane's underlying serious tone, or the fact that Brooke and Mac had basically been politely told to take a hike. A hand landed warmly against her shoulder and squeezed once, then she was suddenly alone in the room with her mother.

"Sammy, are you okay?"

Sam frowned, not sure where her mother was coming from. She didn't get a chance to ask though, because suddenly she was held tightly against her mother, strong arms cutting off circulation and oxygen all in one go.

"Uhm, Mom?"

When Jane pulled back, there was concern and love written clearly on her face.

"It's just...you came so close in Turkey with those bombings, Sam. I know you played it down, but I read the articles and I watched the news. It was bad and you...you were almost..."

Her mother swallowed visibly trying to calm herself and for a second Sam had to close her eyes and breathe deeply, the images of the cafe that had blown up minutes after she exited it, flashing through her mind.

"It was...I'm fine, Mom. I was halfway down the block when it went off, I wasn't hurt. I don't want you to get upset and worry over something that _almost_ happened, okay? I mean I've been in New York Mom, I've been two steps away from being mowed down by a taxi more than once before in my life. This is the same, it just happened to land on the news is all."

Jane rolled her eyes and Sam smiled her widest, brightest smile, hoping the sheer wattage she put behind it would blind her mother enough to miss the fact that the whole incident _had_ shaken her up a bit.

Her mother would have enough to worry about when Brooke let the cat out of the bag about Harrison and the fact that she was pregnant, she didn't need to worry about Sam on top of all that.

"Sam..."

Her mother wasn't buying it, that much was clear, but Sam didn't want to talk about it, _couldn't_ talk about it, yet.

"Look, not today okay? Today is about Brooke, not me."

Her mother looked confused and Sam knew that questions would follow soon, so she cut them off with another smile and then simply dragged her mother towards the kitchen. When she got there, she knew she'd done the right thing.

Brooke grabbed hold of her as soon as she was in arms reach, like she needed the solid feel of Sam's hand in her own to keep her from running out the kitchen. Mike gave her a welcoming smile and Sam returned it, her thumb all the time smoothing over the soft skin of Brooke's hand, trying to calm her as best she could.

"Hey, Sam, you're just in time. Brooke said she had some news about her and Harrison that we all needed to hear."

He was smiling, probably expecting Brooke to announce the wedding date or something and Sam couldn't help stepping closer to Brooke, couldn't help actually slinging her arm around her friends waist.

When Brooke all but sagged against her, she knew she'd done the right thing.

"Daddy, before I start, maybe we should all go sit down..."

- - -

**Right, hope that was okay. Let me know, yeah? It would be appreciated;)**


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